What should you know? First off, most common media are readily available in Greece, but whatever the hot new storage device is at the time of your trip will be the least available in smaller towns and villages. In 2008, SD chips were everywhere, even at some streetside kiosks in the towns and cities, and were widely available on islands and in villages catering to tourists. Memory sticks were much harder to find, but even compact flash cards were available. Also, if your camera uses AA batteries, pay attention to what type your camera prefers. You may not be able to find all of them readily, and from personal experience, I can tell you some cameras don't like the foreign flavors of battery power. Consider bringing enough along.
Still shooting on film? In the U.S. and Canada, film prices are substantially lower than in Greece. Bring through extra film to keep costs down. Take a spare battery as back-up - they can be twice as much as you expect, even with a good exchange rate.
Worried about the X-ray machines?Don't be, unless you are packing extremely high-speed 800 ASA and above film, which occasionally will be damaged by the rays in the standard machines. Ask for hand-searching if the rest of the line behind you doesn't look too scary. However, for the newer high-security X-ray machines, you may want to remove all your film beforehand.
In Greece, film is easily available in all formats, including 35mm, 35mm, 120 Medium Format and APS. Black and white film is probably easier to find than in many other countries.
Greeks love and appreciate photography as an art, so there are plenty of photographers and photographic societies keeping demand high. A chain called Fast Film is in Athens, on Crete, and several of the islands. Here's the website.
Slide processing can be tricky to find in Greece, and is only readily available in Athens. It costs about 8 Euro for 36 exposures.
Many places in Greece seem to be laid out with an eye to creating a pleasing panoramic shot. If you've got that option on your camera, you'll be using it.
Crete-based photographer Steve Outram, who leads photographic safaris throughout Greece, offers some tips to travelers. He's a great advocate of the tripod, and recommends the sturdiest one you can find. "Lug that tripod around. It will help in composition." It also lets you shoot interiors without a flash, allowing a long exposure time. Start building those muscles now! "Second, don't stop shooting at sunset. Some of the best colour shifts are about to occur after the sun has gone down."
His film choices for Greece? Steve recommends Fuji Velvia and Provia for slide work and Fujicolor Superia for prints.
Want to see what the Greeks are shooting? The island of Skopelos has been selected by the Greek ministry of Culture to promote the art of photography through a month-long celebration held each July and August.
In Thessaloniki, a spring Photo Synkyria held in March and February, attracts international photographers and amateurs with dozens of shows and exhibits.
Technically, the Greek Ministry of Culture prefers that tourists do not shoot themselves, in the photographic sense, in front of their famous monuments. In reality, this is rarely enforced, though if you see a site employee grimacing in your direction, this may be why.
Whatever you do, respect the boundaries set up around archaeological sites. If you need to get a shot from an off-limits location, you can try asking the on-site authorities. If they won't allow it, give up.
I still remember a heart-stopping moment at the Temple of Aphaia on the island of Aigina. From behind us, we heard the words "Show me your ticket!" and our entire group began fumbling for our ticket stubs. But the cry continued, and we watched as a small, blonde Greek woman strode by us, her target an (apparently) innocent young man with a camera. Alas, he had transgressed, slipping by the cords protecting the interior of the temple site to take a photo. He and his friends were gathered by this tiny woman, as potent as an irate goddess, who singlehandedly herded them all back to the ticket kiosk, and to a fate unknown...most probably, a fine. Don't let this happen to you!
Inside museums, flash photography is forbidden, and this IS enforced. The intense blasts of light can fade or cause microscopic flaking in ancient pigments on display. Use faster film to avoid this problem...or use your camcorder or a digital still camera. Also, pictures of some unpublished archaeological finds are forbidden, including several of the tempting kouroi (archaic male statues) in the National Museum. These are clearly labelled, and the room monitors will be quick to remind you.
